THE HOPI TRIBE CHAIRMAN, THE GOVERNOR OF THE ACOMA PUEBLO TRIBE AND THE HOLOCAUST ART RESTITUTION PROJECT ANNOUNCE THEY WILL FILE A NEW ACTION IN FRANCE REQUESTING THE SUSPENSION OF A JUNE 10 AUCTION SALE OF SACRED HOPI AND ACOMA OBJECTS TO BE HELD IN PARIS. For Immediate Release Press Contacts:

In Washington, DC: Ori Soltes, (00) 1 301 229 4889, [email protected] In New York, NY: Pierre Ciric (00) 1 212 260 6090, [email protected] In Albuquerque, NM: Ann Berkley Rodgers, (00) 1 (505) 842-5864, [email protected] In Kykotsmovi, AZ: Marilyn Fredericks, (00) 1 928 734 3107, [email protected]

Kykotsmovi, AZ, Albuquerque, NM, Washington, DC, & New York, NY USA – June 02, 2015 - Herman G. Honanie, Chairman of the Hopi Tribe Council, Fred S. Vallo, Sr., Governor of the Pueblo of Acoma, and the Holocaust Art Restitution Project ( “HARP”), based in Washington, DC, chaired by Ori Z. Soltes, are jointly announcing the filing of an action before the French “Conseil des Ventes” (“Board of Auction Sales”), an administrative body in charge of regulating and supervising auction sales in France, requesting the administrative suspension of an auction sale of sacred Hopi and Acoma sacred objects, scheduled for Wednesday, June 10, 2015. “The Conseil des Ventes has the power to suspend this sale on several grounds. These objects cannot be sold or disposed of for legal, cultural and moral reasons, period. We will file all relevant actions to preserve the Acoma and the Hopi rights before French jurisdictions,” said Soltes. The involved objects are protected by criminal provisions of NAGPRA, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, as well as traditional Federal embezzlement statutes. “We need to bring all our Katsina Friends home to their rightful place on the Hopi lands,” says Hopi Tribe Chairman Herman G. Honanie. “Hopi is absolute in its stance that these auctions must cease. We call on all local, state and federal agencies to aid our efforts in recovering our sacred Katsina Friends. They belong on Hopi and must be returned.” Governor Vallo of the Pueblo of Acoma said “Acoma stands shoulder to shoulder with the Hopi Tribe in taking all action necessary to stop the illegal sale of its cultural patrimony. Acoma calls upon the governments of the United States and the Republic of France to work together to stop this practice.” The Hopi Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of American Indians, who live in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi Tribe remains one of the most religiously traditional tribes within the United States. The Acoma Pueblo Tribe is a federally recognized tribe located west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Acoma Pueblo Tribe is one of the oldest tribal communities in the United States, with traditions dating back to more than two thousand years. HARP is a not-for-profit group based in Washington, DC, dedicated to the identification and restitution of looted artworks require detailed research and analysis of public and private archives in North America. HARP has worked for 16 years on the restitution of artworks looted by the Nazi regime.

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